Friday, October 31, 2014

Review- Kiss/ Love Gun Deluxe Edition

Kiss...oh
how this band has bled me dry over the course of my life. This marks
the eighth time that I have owned this album. My first copy on LP was a
gift on my fourth birthday in 1977 (Mom,
what were you thinking, putting me on this path which has led to my
eternal damnation?), then a
Columbia House cassette copy with a sticker label, late '70s (my Mom
may have forgot to return the card on time?), eight track cartridge
purchased in the '90s, a cassette copy purchased in 1987, original CD
purchased in early '90s, Japanese remastered CD in LP-style card
sleeve circa 1996/97, US remastered CD in 1997, and now this 2 disc
Deluxe Edition.
Yes, I love Kiss. Yes, I obviously hate my money, which is a
prerequisite of being a member of the Kiss Army, you know. All
children in the late '70s were indoctrinated by Kiss and Star
Wars. So severe was the
cultural penetration that it swallowed us all whole, and to this day
Star Wars
and Kiss remain beloved symbols of our childhood.

The
main album is, of course, absolutely brilliant. While many of the OG
members of the Kiss Army went AWOL during this era there were so many
new fans that it would be several years before the fallout would
become apparent. I know someone who saw them at Cobo Arena on the
Alive!
Tour in January of 1976 and he said that this was the album where he
bailed. Fuck that
Christine Sixteen shit. Girly music,
he says. Frank Marino and
Mahogany Rush, man. So
spoke someone who was there at the time. I
Stole Your Love,
Tomorrow And Tonight,
and Plaster Caster
are among the greatest songs ever written. I just wish that the CD
label was a replica of the original vinyl label. The reremastering
doesn't sound too different from the 1997 remastering, maybe a little
flatter on the EQs but nothing too noticeable. If you were not happy
with the remastering before you won't be now.

Disc
Two is the real draw, as we get three unreleased songs from the Love
Gun sessions. Much
Too Soon, a sort of
Stonesy throwaway; Reputation,
which would go on to become Radioactive
on Gene Simmons' 1978 solo album; I
Know Who You Are, which
would become Living In
Sin, also later found on
Gene Simmons' 1978 solo album. The other demos are interesting but
not essential. The Gene
Simmons Radio Interview
from Montreal 1977 shows that Gene Simmons has been laying his line
of bull on folks for a long, long time. Love
Gun (Teaching Demo)
shows the inner workings of Paul's mind as he wrote the song. It is
obviously sourced from a cassette but that is part of the charm, like
he is sitting in a hotel room calling out chords and notes as he maps
out the song in his head. Fascinating.

The
three live tracks show just how “sweetened” Alive
II is. We all know that
Kiss did a lot of rerecording of that “live” album in the studio
and that it is not at all indicative of the summer 1977 setlist. I
wonder if they did any further tinkering with these here? My guess is
probably. I would love to see a series of true
live album from every tour released.

The
packaging is one of those cardboard tri-fold digi-paks with two
plastic hubs. There is a booklet with all kinds of cool pictures and
notes, including the original cover pitch which was rejected. There
is a magnet replica of the original popgun, which is cool. My only
complaint is that the BANG is absent, whereas it is included in the
booklet of the 1997 remaster.

So
yeah Kiss, you got my money again. I can't wait to buy the entire
catalog yet again in this deluxe format. Kill me now.

Junk
Food For Thought rating- Main album: 6 out of 5. Disc Two- 4 out of
5.